Like a Piece of Meat–1
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, just as he starts the car.
He shakes his head. “Don’t apologize. I did the same thing to you, or do you not
remember?”
I sink into my seat remembering how it felt when he began to read the article about my accident, when he forced me into a panic attack.
The tension between us increases until I’m bouncing my leg on the ground to try and balance myself. He’s angry, and it’s coming off of him in waves. He grips the steering wheel until his knuckles turn white.
My phone vibrates in my back pocket.
A: Hey. I’m home now, need me to pick you up?
I roll my tongue inside my mouth and don’t answer, instead I look outside the window, taking in the desert landscape.
It think about the last time I was on this road, about Jake and how that seemed to be the start of everything for me. The start of Jake and then the start of Aiden.
Koumpounophobia – Fear of buttons.
Rhytiphobia – Fear of getting wrinkles.
I fidget, remembering the sight of his broken heart plastered so clearly in his eyes. My heart rate increasing as I remember how angry he looked after the game, how he watched
me as if I had ruined him.
I’m so in my head, my mind spinning that I don’t even realize we are in town until Zaid pulls the car a stop.
I blink, frowning as realize that we’re in Aiden’s driveway.
“How–why are we here?”
Zaid tilts his head. “You’re going to tell that wasn’t Aiden texting you earlier to tell you
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Like a Piece of Meat–1
he’s done with practice?”
Had he been reading my messages? I look away from him and unbuckle my seatbelt. “You know where he lives?”
He smirks but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Yes. Small town. Ex–best friends and all that
shit.”
“Right,” I exhale. It’s weird, to picture them as friends and even more devastating to think about the possibility that Zaid knows Aiden better than I do. What if he is right about Aiden being worse than what he portrays himself to be?
I can’t let myself think like that.
It will be a snowball effect, starting with Jace, made worse by Evan and now Zaid.
I step out of the car, but before I can shut the door, Zaid stops me.
“Alina.”
I bend over, looking at him through the open door. “Yeah?”
He smiles sadly. “Can I ask you for a favor?”
A favor? It’s an odd request from him and curiosity has me nodding.
“Tomorrow at school, go to the gym hallway and look at the basketball section.”
“Why?”
He shakes his head. “Just do it.”
“I’m not going to do it until you tell me why.”
He sighs and drops his hand from the steering wheel. “I’m not going to tell you. Trust me,
just do it.”
With that, he reached over and closes the car door in front of me, pulling out of the driveway and leaving me standing there. I have to give myself a few seconds to breathe, a few seconds to dispel the image of him reaching over, his wingspan long enough to grab
the door handle.
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Like a Piece of Meat–1
His car disappears after a curve and my mind races with more questions.
What can I possibly learn from pictures and awards given to the basketball team?
I shake my head, promising myself to not think about Zaid for the rest of the night and head to the front door.
My hand trembles as I knock, praying to all the gods of the universe to please not let Jake answer the door. They answer for once, as it’s Aiden at the door with a wide smile on his
face.
“Hey, you didn’t text me back.”
I shrug, “Surprise.”
He either ignores the tension in my face, or he is completely unaware of it. He says nothing and a second later his lips are on mine, his arms wrapping around my waist. He swings me into the house and closes the door without lifting his lips from mine.
Every thought, every worry in the back of my head disappears, melting as I lose myself in
his kiss and his embrace.
He pulls back, gently cupping my face. “Wanna head upstairs?”
I nod, smiling up at him.
He takes my hand, and leads me up the stairs. “My dad’s not here today.”
“Oh?” I try to sound uninterested, uninvested, but my voice comes out so broken.
“Yeah, he’s out on a date, so we have the house to ourselves.”
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